1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to telecommunication networks, and more specifically to a method and apparatus for supporting a community of subscribers in an environment using a service selection gateway (SSG).
2. Related Art
Service selection gateways (SSG) generally refer to network switches/routers which allow a subscriber to selectively access various services on the Internet. In one common environment, a service provider (e.g., an interne service provider or a shop providing the subscriber terminals to access the services) controls the services a subscriber is permitted to access, and charges (receive compensation) the subscriber for accessing/using the services.
Communities generally refer to a group of subscribers having some type of relationships. Relationships can be well known ones such as father, siblings, from the same school/town, etc., or having any other type of relationship. It may be desirable to provide features of interest to communities using the SSG.
In the drawings, like reference numbers generally indicate identical, functionally similar, and/or structurally similar elements. The drawing in which an element first appears is indicated by the leftmost digit(s) in the corresponding reference number.